Wisconsin student, teacher now "kidney friends" are back at school

OAKFIELD — It's back to school for a Wisconsin teacher and a student who share a close bond — they are kidney friends forever.

Oakfield Elementary teacher Jodi Schmidt and second-grader Natasha Fuller were the stars of a raucous pep rally on the first day of school Thursday.

Natasha needed a kidney transplant. So in May, Schmidt donated a kidney to her.

Natasha says Schmidt is a wonderful teacher and "takes care of a lot of kids."

The teacher tells WLUK-TV the decision was not difficult. She says she believes "that it was meant to be."

Kidney failure had kept Natasha from running, jumping and doing other things most children take for granted.

She faces one more surgery at the end of this week to remove a final tube.